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“You’re still in the middle of living your misspent youth. Couple years it’s going to be your misspent middle age.”
“You first.” Augie never skipped an opportunity to remind Lauren that she was a year older than he was.
Out on the beach, people were wrapping up for the day, a stream of humanity leaving the white-gold sand for the asphalt and concrete of LA. A young man in bright red trunks, maybe twenty years old, walked toward the distant parking lot giving his girlfriend a piggyback ride. The wistful longing that bubbled up in Lauren’s heart caught her off-guard, bringing her back to a time when she was the one getting the piggyback.
Danny.
Her heart stuttered.
She’d never been able to stop thinking about Danny Padovano, her ex from high school. She’d struggled with their breakup for years as she tried every conceivable trick to get over him, including a cocaine addiction that nearly ruined her. Finally, Lauren buried her broken heart so deep that it was easy for her to pretend those feelings didn’t exist. She’d had other lovers over the years, but none of them had ever made her forget Danny.
He was the one person who loved her forwhoshe really was, notwhatshe was.
Unlike Rob and all the other exes.
She could feel Augie staring at her.
“Maybe I’ll look Danny up while we’re home.”
“Pandora’s Box,” he said.
“It would be fine.” Lauren set her jaw, refusing to meet his eyes or acknowledge the warning in his voice. She didn’t want to argue, and she was well aware her cousin had never completely forgiven her ex for breaking her heart all those years ago.
They turned their attention to other topics related to the band’s temporary relocation to the East Coast to record. Augie said he’d spoken to Fitz briefly, and the producer would be waiting for Lauren to call him.
After about twenty minutes, Augie glanced at his watch. “I gotta bolt. You’ll call Fitz to confirm details?”
“I will,” she said. “Catch you later.”
He sauntered away, and Lauren went back to watching the final moments of the sun’s descent until it vanished, leaving the sky a blue-violet with the barest hint of maroon on the horizon. But the gorgeous color couldn’t keep her thoughts from straying to her writing difficulties and then to what Augie had said about looking up old friends. He’d stayed in touch with a few people over the years, but she hadn’t. Not really. She’d had plenty of friends growing up, but none of them shared her passion for music—her obsession, as they called it. And once The Kingmakers took off—well, Lauren didn’t have that much in common with them anymore.
After nearly twenty years, Danny was the only person she was interested in seeing. The tangled prick of anger and longing in her heart annoyed her. Their breakup had been devastating. And although it had been years since she’d seen him, she thought of him often. More often than she probably should. Her sisters occasionally shared news about what he was up to. When Carolyn told her several years ago that Danny had gotten married, Lauren pretended it didn’t bother her.
But it did.
She chewed her bottom lip and wondered if going back to New York might be a mistake.
A week later, travel bag over one shoulder, Lauren walked toward the private jet scheduled to whisk her and Augie to New York. She tried to keep her laughter to a minimum as she listened to her sister on the other end of her cell. Up ahead, she saw Augie at the stairs to the plane. She waved, got his attention, and pointed at her phone. He gave her the thumbs-up, understanding her unspoken message.
“Yes, Carolyn. Mom knows I’m coming. Or she will when she checks her messages. I called her right before you.”
“I’m so happy you’ll be home!” Carolyn’s voice was gleeful.
“I’m going to be working—”
“—But you’ll be in the same state! We haven’t been in the same state for ages! We have to go out when you get here. Can you get us into Blue Ruby? It’s a new club in Manhattan? I’ve seen pictures. It looks amazing!”
Now that Carolyn was married with a set of twins, her clubbing days were a thing of the past—except when Lauren was in town. Then the two sisters always had one bang-up night out together.
“I’m not trotting around town like some show pony, Carolyn. This is a working trip, not a vacation.”
“Lauren…”
“You sound like you’re twelve.”
“Is it working?”
Lauren couldn’t hold in her laughter any longer. “Yes, it’s working. I’ll get us into Blue Ruby.”
